Standish man charged with murdering his girlfriend

A Standish man was arrested Friday and charged with murdering his girlfriend last June in their home.

Brandon Libby, 34, was indicted Thursday on a murder charge by a Cumberland County grand jury in connection with the June 16 death of his domestic partner, 29-year-old Amanda Brown.

Brandon Libby Photo courtesy Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office

He was arrested without incident Friday afternoon in Hollis by the Maine State Police Tactical Team, Crisis Negotiation Team and the U.S. Marshal’s Maine Violent Offender Task Force.

Brown was found dead last June after police were called to the couple’s home in Standish for a reported assault. Libby’s mother, who also lived there, told police there had been an assault in the home.

Libby was questioned later that day after he was taken into protective custody in Waterboro by a police K-9 unit and the state police tactical team. He was not immediately charged and police said at the time that he was cooperative.

In an online fundraiser after her death, friends described Brown as a “wonderful young vibrant woman” who was loved by her family and respected by her co-workers. They said Brown had a huge heart, loved her children and the children she worked with as a caseworker, and animals.

After the shooting, Brown’s mother, Jeanine Brown, filed for a protection from abuse order on behalf of the couple’s two children, ages 2 and 3, according to court documents. In the filing, she said the children were present when their father shot their mother, after which he fled and became involved in a standoff with police in North Waterboro. She alleged Libby had been physically and mentally abusive and drank hard liquor daily.

“I am in fear of my life and safety (and those) of my grandchildren,” Jeanine Brown wrote in a June 21 affidavit requesting the temporary protection order. “On June 15 I believe he (Brandon) shot and killed my daughter in their home with both children present. Brandon Libby is stating self-defense.”

“I fear he will come to my home to either see or take his children,” Brown wrote. “His mental state is irrational. He may harm or kill me to get to them.”

A judge granted the temporary protection order.

During a brief interview with a reporter last summer, Brandon Libby and his mother, Lilo Libby, called Brown’s death a “tragic accident,” but declined to talk about how Brown died or why Libby fled the scene.

“(Amanda) was loved very much by all of us,” Lilo Libby said last year. “This whole thing needs to end. The truth needs to come out. People need to move on with their lives. There’s a lot of people who are really, really hurt right now. A lot of people. We’re hurting as much as (Amanda’s mother) is hurting.”